In brief: Block helps Wildcats slip past Tar Heels

College basketball: Pushed and pressured all day, Anthony Davis finally went somewhere else no one could on the floor. Up.

The freshman soared to block John Henson’s shot in the final seconds and No. 1 Kentucky held on to beat No. 5 North Carolina 73-72 on Saturday in Lexington, Ky., to extend the Wildcats’ home winning streak to 39 games.

Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Kentucky (8-0) and Doron Lamb added 12 of his 14 points after halftime in the heavily hyped matchup.

Reggie Bullock hit a 3-pointer for North Carolina (6-2) to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 73-72 with 48 seconds left. After freshman Marquis Teague missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Davis blocked Henson’s shot, grabbed the rebound and the Wildcats ran out the clock.

Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points apiece for the Tar Heels, who led by as many as nine in the first half.

• Xavier rallies past Purdue: Tu Holloway scored 21 points, including three consecutive 3-pointers in the last 2 minutes, and No. 11 Xavier (6-0) roared back from a 19-point second-half deficit to pull out a 66-63 win over Purdue in Cincinnati.

Holloway personally capped the Musketeers’ comeback with six straight points that gave Xavier a 61-60 lead with 1:06 left. It was Xavier’s first lead since 2-0.

After Purdue’s Robbie Hummel tied the game with a free throw with 55.8 seconds left, Holloway calmly sank his third straight 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Musketeers a 64-61 lead and two free throws with 21.7 seconds left to wrap it up.

• Marquette upsets Wisconsin: Darius Johnson- Odom scored 17 points and No. 16 Marquette (7-0) knocked off No. 9 Wisconsin 61-54 in Madison, Wis.

Todd Mayo added 14 points for Marquette, which snapped the Badgers’ 23-game home winning streak.

Jordan Taylor scored 13 to lead the Badgers (6-2), who have lost two straight.

Johnson leads Woods by one stroke

Golf: Zach Johnson needed something special to track down Tiger Woods in the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Holing a 7-iron from the 18th fairway for eagle did the trick.

Johnson’s shot from 163 yards landed near the cup and spun into the hole, giving him a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Woods going into the final round at Sherwood Country Club.

It was the second eagle on the back nine for Johnson, who chipped in on the par-5 11th.

Woods had the 36-hole lead for the second straight tournament, and for the second straight time failed to break par in the third round. He had three bogeys on the par 5s and had to settle for a 73, though he had few complaints.

The wind was strong and chilly from the start, and rarely stayed the same direction very long. With a wedge in his hand, Woods went some 40 feet long on the second hole that led to a three-putt bogey. Another wedge on the par-5 13th sailed over the green and left a pitch he had no chance to get close.

K.J. Choi, who took a double bogey on the second hole, recovered for a 72 and was three shots behind. Everyone else was at least five shots behind, including Matt Kuchar, who played with Woods and had a 74.

Red-hot Rangers run win streak to five

NHL: Derek Stepan had a tiebreaking goal and added an assist, helping the New York Rangers extend their winning streak to five with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa, Fla.

• Giroux sparks Flyers: Claude Giroux scored his 15th goal of the season to move into a tie for the NHL scoring lead and the Philadelphia Flyers dominated Phoenix early in a 4-2 victory over the Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz.

• Moulson has career night for Islanders: Matt Moulson scored a career-high four goals to help the New York Islanders beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 in Dallas.

The left winger scored twice in a wild, seven-goal second period, giving the Islanders a 5-4 edge off a 3-on-2 break with 2:50 left with his team-high 13th goal of the season.

• Penguins edge Hurricanes: Arron Asham and Pascal Dupuis scored 1:27 apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins made a late defensive stand to beat the slumping Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Raleigh, N.C.

Viletta notches first World Cup win

Skiing: Sandro Viletta of Switzerland captured his first World Cup win by charging down a challenging super-G course in Beaver Creek, Colo.

Starting way back at 30th and with snow falling, Viletta soared down the steep hill and finished in a time of 1 minute, 18.71 seconds to overtake Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway by 0.20 seconds. Beat Feuz of Switzerland took third.

• Vonn makes it two straight wins: Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. won a downhill for the second day in a row at Lake Louise, Alberta.

It was Vonn’s 10th career victory at Lake Louise, and the Olympic champion has more World Cup victories at this mountain resort west of Calgary than anywhere else.

Vonn finished in 1 minute, 51.35 seconds to beat Marie Marchand-Arvier of France by 1.65 seconds. Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was third.

Povetkin retains heavyweight title

Miscellany: Undefeated Alexander Povetkin retained his WBA heavyweight title with an eighth-round knockout of American challenger Cedric Boswell in Helsinki.

It took Boswell 17 years as a professional to get a shot at a world title, but his dream of becoming the first American in five years to hold one of the major belts withered under a barrage of blows from the Russian.

Povetkin, who conceded a 6-inch reach advantage, had the 42-year-old Boswell on the ropes by the end of the seventh round with a succession of big punches.

Povetkin improved to 23-0 (16 KOs), while Boswell (35-2, 26 KOs) lost for the first time since 2003.

• Argentina tops Spain in doubles: Argentina won the doubles against Spain to trail 2-1 in the Davis Cup tennis final, although the South Americans will face Rafael Nadal on his favorite clay surface today in Seville, Spain.

David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank, partnering for the first time, eased to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spanish pair Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez on the clay at Olympic Stadium.